Hare and Hedgehog

The Hare and Hedgehog game

The old German fairy tale of the 'hare and the hedgehog' teaches us that the winner is not always the one who runs fastest, the slower contestant can win if he is clever enough.

Hare and hedgehog is a race where it's important to be as fast as the hare but also as slow and as shrewd as the hedgehog. Each player is both a hare and a hedgehog.

Carrots are very important in the race as they give you the strength to move forwards. Each forwards movement costs a number of carrots, how many depends on the distance travelled.

The number of carrots that you have at the beginning, is not enough to reach the winning post, so there are a number of ways to collect additional carrots, more on this subject later.

The object of the game is to be first past the winning post. This is made more difficult by the lettuce which you have to get rid of during the race and also by the fact that you are not allowed to reach the winning post with too many carrots.

At the beginning of the race each player receives 3 lettuce and a quantity of carrots based on the number of players, 68 carrots with up to 4 players and 98 carrots by 5 or 6 players.

The maximum number of players is 6. You can practice by playing alone but it's more fun to play against your 'Sam',whereby 'Sam ‘can be replace up to 6 players which of course would mean 'Sam ‘can be playing against itself.

You can move forwards or backwards as often as you want until you press the 'fire' button which confirms the move. If the move is legal then it will be accepted but if not you will see an appropriate message. 'Sam' moves on it's own after the 'fire button' message.

Forward moves costs carrots, for backwards moves you will receive10 carrots per square provided the move is legal.

Only one player may be on particular square, you can jump over him but the square will be counted.

Forward moves

You can move forwards onto any square so long as it does not show a hedgehog. You can choose for yourself how many squares to move, in fact you can move as far as your reserve of carrots allows. You can see at the bottom left of the screen the number of carrots you are going to use.

You can't however move further then your reserve of carrots allows. Your 'Sam' will keep watch on this rule for you!

The further you move the more carrots it costs. For 1 square it’s 1 carrot, for 2 squares 3 carrots, 3 squares 6 carrots, 4 squares 10 carrots and so on. The formula for movement and carrot is 'squares * (squares+1)/2'.so that a move of 20 squares would cost 210 carrots.

Backward moves

You can move backwards any number of squares up to and including the first square showing a hedgehog. If it is occupied then you cannot stop on it and you can never jump over it.

For each square you will receive 10 carrots, if you land on a square showing a hare, carrots or a number they have no significance.

If you have decided to stop on a 'hedgehog square' then on your next move you may continue to move backwards as far as the next 'hedgehog square' (so long as it's not occupied).

Of course, you can also move forwards on the next move and continue trying to reach the winning post.

Once you have pressed the 'fire' button to confirm your backwards move you will automatically receive your extra carrots, as long as the move was legal.

There are however other ways to obtain extra carrots.

Hare squares

if you end your move on a 'hare square' then you will receive also called 'hare card'. The instructions on this card will (if possible) be carried out immediately. There are a total of 12'hare cards' which are shuffled before the game begins.

When all of the 'hare cards' have been used up they are automatically reshuffled.

Meaning of the 'hare cards':

* Miss 1 turn: the player misses 1 turn and remains on the 'hare square' instead of moving.

* To last/next carrot square: the player is moved to the next unoccupied carrot field, this does not cost any carrots but you also don't receive any carrots. In the next move it is however possible to obtain carrots from this square as usual.

* Move again: the player can move again either forwards or backwards and all of the normal rules of movement apply.

* Free move: the number of carrots that it cost to reach the ‘hare square' are returned to the player.

* Give or take 10 carrots: you can take or give up 10 carrots, though you don't have to. After pressing the 'fire' button you will see a menu a, b and c and you can decide which option you want to choose.

* Eat a lettuce: here is the same rule as on a 'lettuce square’, at the next move a lettuce will be exchanged for 10 times your current position in carrots (ex. If your 2nd then 20 carrots)and you miss a turn. If you don't have a lettuce then you miss a turn without receiving any carrots.

* 1 Position forwards or backwards: the normal rules for forward/backward movement apply and you will be moved forwards or backwards to the first free square which will improve your ranking by 1 position. Depending on the constellation of the board this could move you up 1, 2 or more positions. If you’re already last then the 'backwards' card has no meaning or if your first then likewise the 'forwards' card. It is possible if you have enough carrots to reach the winning post directly.

Hedgehog squares

The rules concerning 'hedgehog squares' have been covered in the sections 'moving forwards and backwards'. During forward movement it is not allowed to stop on a 'hedgehog square'. An attempt to do this will produce the massage 'illegal move'.

By backward movement the 'hedgehog square' is the limit of the move. If it's not occupied then you can stop on it and on the next move, move backwards up to the next 'hedgehog square' and so improve your supply of carrots.

Only one player can ever be on a 'hedgehog square'.

Position squares

In this game it's always important to know which position you occupy in the race. The 'position squares' are concerned with the ranking of the player in the race.

The player tries to match his position with the number of the square so that the squares 2,3 and 4 have meaning for the player lying 2nd, 3rd and 4th while the squares 1, 5 and 6th for the players lying 1st, 5th and 6th. If there are less than 6 players then the higher 'position squares' have no meaning.

If you land on a 'position square' then nothing happens immediately but on your next move if the number of the square corresponds to your position in the race then you will receive10 times this number of carrots.

Watch out!

Between your arrival on the square and your next move your position in the race could through the moves of the other players change considerably.

End of the game

To reach the end of the game you must land on the 'winning post square' marked with the winners banner and of course pay the necessary numbers of carrots for the move (the banner square is counted as a normal square). A player cannot move to this square if he still has any lettuce.

A player must not have too many carrots left over: the first player may not have more than 10, the 2nd not more then 20, the third not more than 30 and so on.

Players who have completed the game are shown on the left of the screen. This is important as it shows the players ranking on reaching the winning post. This means the last player to complete the game is also the last in the list which is important when eating lettuce or with some of the 'hare cards'.

The trick is to arrive at the winning post using the right tactic and with the right number of carrots. Anyone who is near the winning post and has too many carrots is in for a nasty surprise, as backward moves only increase his number of carrots.

In any case this game can help bring many hours of enjoyment and if this is achieved then all of the work will have been more than worthwhile.

So, on the starting blocks, eat lettuce, collect carrots, block your opponents on the 'number squares'.

The WoMo-team from the Spectrum und Sam Profi club in Cologne, Germany wishes you lot's of fun.

Credits goes to

Ian Spencer for translating the instructions from German to English.

Malcolm Mackenzie from Persona for adding title screen and to Andy Davis (alchemist research) for helping to made the first contact to Malcolm.

To John Hutchings which music was 'stolen' from SAM Supplement 48.

To my wife Monika, who was unbelievable patient with me during her pregnancy in 1992, when I wrote this game.

To Melanie, my daughter who was born at 21.09.1992 short past finishing this game which is dedicated to her.

To all Sam users, who like to play it and to myself for the courage to make it public domain.

In any case this game can help bring many hours of enjoyment and if this is achieved then all of the work will have been more than worthwhile.